…by the barefoot running establishment. Yeah, there is a barefoot running establishment! I got this email today from Mike.
I was reading your blog and like your support of barefoot/minimalist running. In recognition of BFR/MR, the Barefoot Runners Society would like to offer you our "Stomp of Approval". Would you proudly display our seal on your website?
Thanks Mike and TJ and all the gang over at the BRS! I now proudly display the “Stomp of Approval” on this here blogger!
In response to my ‘tough’ run yesterday morning, I just got a comment from Chris over at BQ or Die. It said:
Okay, I'm gonna get all philosophical here...Light cannot exist without the presence of darkness. If all runs were good, how would we know?
That is so very true isn’t it? My run wasn’t the worst thing ever yesterday, but it did suck eggs compared to some recent runs. HOWEVER, why is it that we can’t learn from others bonking and tipping the suck scale, instead of HAVING to experience the suckness for ourselves? I read all about you other runners having to DNF or DNS or crawl to the finish or be carried off the course or pooping their pants or suffering really bad injuries. Normally there is a perfectly good explanation for the reasons things went wrong in each instance. Why do I still do stupid things like go to fast when I know it’s too fast, or run past the porta-potty when I gotta go, but I think I can make it to the end, saving 2 minutes, and finishing in 197th instead of 212th? AND losing all the prize money I wouldn't have gotten anyway, on the table, all the while suffering from severe bladder distress or some embarrassing localized leakage? nope, I gotta learn it all myself. That said, it makes me proud to be a runner, once I get over the initial humiliations…
Ok, enough of all that negative talk. I am looking forward to a great easy run tomorrow, barefoot, on known paths. yay.
So it was a tougher run, not the toughest by far, but tough. In contrast, here is what went right, surrounding the tough run.
- We were camping, normally I like a couple beers. I did NOT drink any on Sat night, because the run would have sucked more, and maybe not even have happened
- We eat well (lots, tasty, fatty, saucy) camping. I restrained myself to eating only one plateful of super tasty tinfoil cooked grub
- We like to stay up late playing cribbage. We shut it down at 11pm and got a super sleep, because I had to run.
- I drank a really good amount of water
- By the time most people were cooking all their bacon Sunday morning, I had pounded off 11k and was ready to face the day!
- I had a good story to tell, that I wouldn’t have otherwise (imagine how terrible this blog would be if I didn’t ever run?)
So, even tho the run was a tough slog, there were still a good amount of anti-suck to go along with it! AND I always have to remember that I used to be a very overweight guy! These ‘tough’ runs weren’t even on the radar back then. Perspective people, it’s all around us!
running product makers!! Please sponsor me! Jenny Craig, I still have 40lbs to lose, I will lose it if you buy all the food for me and my DW (no one wants to go through JC alone, if you’ve done it, you know)! I look good on camera, better than George Kastanza, that's for sure.
And I see from your before and after shots that running has also helped your vision... I wish it would do that to me as well.
ReplyDeleteToo true about the suckage runs. Every once in a while, those inevitable runs sneak up on us. Push through them and focus on the next run.
Very cool stamp!
ReplyDeleteSince I am not a competitive runner, and very much beginning again and not running very far, it's hard for me to have a "bad" day.
My attitude has changed, however, about the way I view a more challenging run. In the past I would have been very unhappy and discouraged when having a bad run. But now I view it less judgmentally and take it for what it is. This is what I've got to deal with today, and I get in to the process of how to deal with all the symptoms of the bad run. I am way more process oriented than I used to be.
But I also realize it can be a luxury to be process oriented. I am not working toward any personal best speeds or performances. I am not competing. I am just running. If I started pushing myself for performance and outcome, I might not be as zen about it.
Lorne: I got my eyes lasered a year and a half ago. Best money I have ever spent. ever.
ReplyDeleteAS: you'll get there. As you progress with your running, you'll set new benchmarks of good. That can only lead to a level of disappointment on days that don't reach that level. It's inevitable and its ok!
"Confidence is not some nonphysical quality snatched from the spiritual dimension and installed in the mind. It is the feeling that arises when the body's knowledge of itself is in harmony with a person's dreams." - Matt Fitzgerald
ReplyDeleteThe only way to be confident you can overcome obstacles is to overcome obstacles.
But yeah, poop before you run.
I'm with Josh. Pooping is probably the key to most of my successful runs.
ReplyDeleteCongrats on the stamp!!
There is always an upside even if its super hard or near impossible to see, but its there. The really hard part is remembering to look for it :)
ReplyDeleteGotta love that BRS stomp!!
did you create that stamp yourself? surely it's not legit...
ReplyDeleteHey, I want for a run last night for the first time in 3 months. After 2 minutes I thought I was going to die. I pushed through and ran 3.2km in about 23 minutes. It wasn't fast but I did it. and somedays I still think running is stupid.
Wow! A picture really is worth one thousand words. You look great!
ReplyDelete